First World Café for SWLSB! - Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board

Drag Racing at Laurentian Regional HighThe students in the Work Oriented TrainingPath (WOTP) at Laurentian Regional HighSchool recently held their second Drag RacingDerby. The smaller of two cafeterias wasconverted into a temporary drag strip and thestudents challenged each other to one on onesprints. Their Hot Rods whipped across thestretch of floor held to the ground bymonofilament guidelines. These dragstersdidn’t have sophisticated parachutes to slowthem down, instead relying on “emergencycomfy cushions” to bring them to a halt!Ernie Robitaille, their shop teacher andspecialist in auto-mechanics and welding, gavethe kids free rein in designing their cars. Eachstudent started off with a similar block ofwood. It was up to them to design, carve and paint their vehicle. After a preliminary round of races the studentsquickly learned that weight was the key factor in determining speed. They returned to the woodshop where theracers tried to drill, trim and sand as much off their cars as they could while still maintaining some structuralintegrity. It’s unlikely that the Formula One safety panel would have cleared many of the cars!Their CO2 propelled cars reached speeds of +70 km/h. That might not seem fast until you realize they wereattaining those speeds in under 2 seconds. In the case of the eventual winner, Tyler Young, his modifiedYamaha convertible managed to break the 1 second barrier, speeding over the 66 ft course at 74 km/h!SIR WILFRID LAURIER SCHOOL BOARD Page 25 VOLUME 3 · ISSUE 3 · March 2012